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A30 FEATURE
Monday 27 July 2020
Crush of boat buyers seek recreation, safety during pandemic

By DAVID SHARP Foundation for Boating
Associated Press Safety and Clean Water in
YARMOUTH, Maine (AP) — Annapolis, Maryland.
Brandon Mitchell had big Sailing or motoring around
plans to visit family in Michi- on the water represents a
gan and take his wife and nice consolation prize for
three kids to Disney World. people who canceled va-
The pandemic put those cations or missed summer
plans on ice. camps, athletic programs
So they bought a boat in- or the myriad of other can-
stead. celed events. Boating al-
"We're going to take the lows families to get away
sea. There's so much to ex- from shore, remove masks,
plore," the ebullient skipper and enjoy themselves.
said. "It'll get us the recre- Mitchell said he and his
ation and the escape that wife, Hilary, work full time.
we're not going to be able They're also raising kids
to get anywhere else." ages 9, 8 and 2. So a boat
A growing number of peo- hadn't been a priority.
ple like Mitchell — who But the pandemic read-
plans to spend the remain- justed the Cape Elizabeth,
der of the summer island- Maine, family's priorities.
hopping along the Maine Even as the economy re-
coast — are looking to the Carter Mitchell hugs his sister, Emerson, moments after climbing aboard the family's new boat, opens, the family avoids
water amid the coronavirus Friday, July 24, 2020, in Yarmouth, Maine. Brandon and Hilary Mitchell, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, restaurants and going out.
surprised their children with the new purchase after the coronavirus pandemic forced them to
pandemic. And that's good cancel summer travel plans. The pre-owned boat, which
news for the boat industry. Associated Press the family picked up on Fri-
From Maine to California, day in Yarmouth, opens
boat dealers are report- "I've never seen anything might cost $10,500, while taking the high seas, there a new opportunity to get
ing unprecedented sales like this," said Rob Soucy a 44-foot (13-meter) cruiser are safety concerns that away, tie up with his broth-
that began in the spring in from Port Harbor Marine, could cost up to $900,000. don't directly stem from the er-in-law's boat, and let the
warm-weather states be- which describes itself as And the prices go up from coronavirus. kids play and swim togeth-
fore picking up steam in Maine's biggest boat deal- there. The U.S. Coast Guard rec- er. They can also explore
other parts of the country, er. "Since the end of April, But with vacation travel ommends safety courses Maine's mostly uninhabited
like Maine and Minnesota. we've seen boat sales at canceled and other ac- for new boaters, but hands- hundreds of islands.
Marinas and boat repair historic levels." tivities on hold, people are on instruction has been The 26-foot (8-meter) boat,
shops are swamped by the At one point, his inquiries ready to escape on the hard to find this summer which has a small galley, a
wave of interest. There also were up 300% to 400%, and water — on everything because of the pandemic. head and sleeping space,
are waiting lists for slips for he expects to sell about from modest boats to luxu- Some boaters have discov- will become a floating oa-
boats. 1,000 boats this year, a ry yachts, said Chris DiMillo, ered online safety courses. sis from a world in turmoil,
A recent survey showed couple hundred more than from DiMillo's Yacht Sales in "We want people to be Mitchell said.
more than 70% of boat usual. Portland. out on the water enjoying "The coronavirus was the
dealers were either com- "It's like wildfire. People are "Our inventory in the mar- themselves, but everyone catalyst for the decision,"
pletely out of boats or had searching for ways to get ket in general is as thin as has to take into account he said. "This is our fam-
low inventory, said Matt on the water," said Tracy I've seen. We're getting safety," said Chris Edmon- ily vacation. This our family
Gruhn of the Marine Re- Coughlin from the Yar- calls from people who said ston, president of BoatUS road trip. This is it."q
tailers Association of the mouth Boat Yard, also in they'd never buy a boat.
Americas. Maine. And now they're buying
The trend stands to rea- Sales are up 65% at Yar- boats," he said.
son: People are looking mouth Boat Yard and a In Southern California, sales
for something to do and a sister company, Moose are up 40% to 50% at Ma-
safe place to go, at a time Landing Marina in Naples, rina del Rey Yacht Sales
when the pandemic has Maine, she said. The single near Los Angeles and the
raised safety concerns and biggest month for sales Long Beach Yacht Center,
limited recreational oppor- growth has been June, said owner Steve Curran.
tunities. Oceans, lakes and when sales increased 85%. "I've been in the business for
ponds are good places for Boats come in all sizes, 50 years, so I've seen lots of
people to socially distance shapes — and prices. A ups and downs. I certainly
while having fun at the new aluminum fishing boat was not expecting this," he
same time. with outboard engine said.
In Florida, salesman Bill
Aston said sales were up
more than 200% over the
past two months at Central
Marine Boat Sales in St. Pe-
tersburg, Florida.
"We're selling everything
we've got. We've run out of
product," said Aston, who
reports that 95% of his older Boats navigate on Boston Harbor, Saturday, July 18, 2020, in
inventory has been sold. Boston.
But with all the new boaters Associated Press